K. Joseph Shekarchi spoke plainly on Tuesday after he was re-elected to the position of Rhode Island Speaker of the House on Tuesday afternoon. Addressing his fellow Representatives, Speaker Shekarchi said, “There can be no doubt we have a housing crisis and a homelessness crisis. As long as there are people without safe and permanent housing, our work is not done.”

Speaker Shekarchi spent more time talking about the issue of housing than any other subject during his Inauguration Address:

“Over the last two years, we laid a solid groundwork and have achieved so much:

“Unprecedented investments in housing – more than $250 million dollars, the establishment of the first-ever permanent funding stream for affordable housing in Rhode Island, and the creation of a Housing Secretary.

[…]

“We have made progress in tackling Rhode Island’s housing crisis. However, we need to do much more. Our lack of affordable housing has been exposed in recent months…

“In the last session, we created two commissions, which have been working diligently to look at many of the barriers to housing production in Rhode Island. One commission, led by Chairwoman June Speakman, is studying the state’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Act. The other commission is made up of a team of experts studying land use more generally.

“I am incredibly proud of the work of both commissions, and look forward to receiving their recommendations, which we hope will lead to even more housing legislation this year to aggressively and creatively tackle this critical issue. In order to find solutions to our housing crisis, we need to bring all parties to the table, including cities and towns. As our commissions have already heard, some of the barriers to housing production must be addressed at the local level.“

In contrast, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, who was re-elected to his position as Senate President on Tuesday, listed housing as one of many issues the chamber hopes to address this session and did not mention homelessness, instead saying, “We will address the mental health crisis amongst our children, take action to replace all of Rhode Island’s lead pipes, and continue our work to ensure that all Rhode Islanders have access to safe and affordable housing.”

Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee did not mention the crisis of homelessness or housing a single time during his Inaugural Address at the Rhode Island Convention Center earlier in the day.

An unprecedented 500+ Rhode Islanders, including families with children, are currently experiencing homelessness and sleeping outside or in places unfit for human habitation.